News Corp's 'The Daily' iPad newspaper coming in next two weeks, says Murdoch Jr
The Daily, which is to be News Corp's experimental push into digital-only publications, was originally scheduled for a Jan. 19 launch, but was postponed at the last minute. Reports suggested that the delays were due to a new subscription feature for iTunes that Apple has been working on.
"It should be launching in the next two weeks, I hope," Murdoch said Tuesday at the DLD media conference in Munich. Murdoch, who heads up News Corp's European and Asian operations, also confirmed the $.99 per week price, Reuters reports.
It was Murdoch himself who confirmed initial rumors of the iPad-specific newspaper in November of last year.
The Daily would be the latest in News Corp's collection of paid content publications. Last year, the conglomerate put the online editions of The Times of London and News of the World behind paywalls.
At the conference, Murdoch admitted that readership had dropped off significantly as a result, though the response had been positive.
"Sure enough, our audience has contracted dramatically but the engagement of the audience is very strong, our advertisers are happy," he said. According to Murdoch, News Corp will release subscriber numbers for the publications in about six weeks.
When asked whether The Sun will see a similar 'pay to view' strategy, Murdoch described his company as "cautious." Though most of the online newspaper will likely remain free, Murdoch did say, "I would be very confident that there would be a strong paid component in it."
A recent report described major magazine publishers as frustrated by Apple's existing pay-per-issue approach. According to the report, Apple has yet to ink subscription deals with publishers other than News Corp.
Sales figures for iPad editions of major print magazines have been in sharp decline as initial interest has dropped off. Wired magazine, for instance, has seen downloads drop from 100,000 copies in June to 22,000 and 23,000 in October and November, respectively.
Apple has reportedly told several European publishers that they cannot offer free iPad access to paid print subscribers after April 1. By offering free access to existing customers, publishers have been leaving Apple out of its 30 percent cut for App Store transactions.
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News Corporation executive James Murdoch, son of founder and media mogul Rupert, said Tuesday that its iPad-exclusive periodical, The Daily, should arrive in the next two weeks.
The Daily, which is to be News Corp's experimental push into digital-only publications, was originally scheduled for a Jan. 19 launch, but was postponed at the last minute. Reports suggested that the delays were due to a new subscription feature for iTunes that Apple has been working on.
"It should be launching in the next two weeks, I hope," Murdoch said Tuesday at the DLD media conference in Munich. Murdoch, who heads up News Corp's European and Asian operations, also confirmed the $.99 per week price, Reuters reports.
It was Murdoch himself who confirmed initial rumors of the iPad-specific newspaper in November of last year.
The Daily would be the latest in News Corp's collection of paid content publications. Last year, the conglomerate put the online editions of The Times of London and News of the World behind paywalls.
At the conference, Murdoch admitted that readership had dropped off significantly as a result, though the response had been positive.
"Sure enough, our audience has contracted dramatically but the engagement of the audience is very strong, our advertisers are happy," he said. According to Murdoch, News Corp will release subscriber numbers for the publications in about six weeks.
When asked whether The Sun will see a similar 'pay to view' strategy, Murdoch described his company as "cautious." Though most of the online newspaper will likely remain free, Murdoch did say, "I would be very confident that there would be a strong paid component in it."
A recent report described major magazine publishers as frustrated by Apple's existing pay-per-issue approach. According to the report, Apple has yet to ink subscription deals with publishers other than News Corp.
Sales figures for iPad editions of major print magazines have been in sharp decline as initial interest has dropped off. Wired magazine, for instance, has seen downloads drop from 100,000 copies in June to 22,000 and 23,000 in October and November, respectively.
Apple has reportedly told several European publishers that they cannot offer free iPad access to paid print subscribers after April 1. By offering free access to existing customers, publishers have been leaving Apple out of its 30 percent cut for App Store transactions.
[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]
Great. FauxNews for the iPad. Just what we need.
Zzzzzzzzzz. I'm tired of repeating over and over again for the benefit of these publishing companies. Just give us the digital editions at low prices, make it run smooth and fast and look crisp, and Boom! You're in. Why all this pussyfooting around with which publications go where and when and spending so much effort on new publications specifically for iPad (which will probably be overpriced anyways)?
Case in point from Murdoch's country of birth... Many people like to keep in touch with Australian happenings. The NewsCorp newspaper The Australian, while right-leaning, is pretty much the only *national* Australian newspaper. Just get it on the iPad, $0.99 per issue, as long as it is cheaper than the print version, you can keep all the ads in there even, sorted. People will buy. Why is it so hard to understand?
There is a The Australian app by NewsCorp so I'm wondering why this article says it is Murdoch's first digital publication (okay fair enough The Daily will be the first NewsCorp iPad-only publication). The issue I see with The Australian app is that it seems like a web version and not the verbatim print version. Also, yes $6.99 for a month's subscription is good but why can't I purchase individual issues?
I'm confused. Australian and other users that have tried this app, what do you think?
In general, is it just me or is it very simple... We want, firstly, the verbatim print version at the minimum, because that has high value over "web" or "digital" versions. Because the iPad replaces magazines and newspapers. That does not mean that we don't want to read those magazines or newspapers, we just want it in a more convenient form. Especially for travellers, it is comforting to be able to read your home country's newspaper on the iPad as though you are flipping through the print version... In time, yes, iPad-only or iPad-specific publications may garner interest and value. But the first step is, we just want the print version in a convenient format at a low price on a per-issue or subscription basis (don't leave out the per-issue option!).
Publishers must understand that they have strong brands and strong value in print publications because of decades of history. A new iPad-tweaked publication will have to be damn good and also take time to become popular and valuable. Any publisher thinking of creating special digital versions and charging more than the print versions are barking up the wrong tree. As I say above, start simple, price low, go for volume, offer at minimum the verbatim print version and formatting (bells and whistles like page reflow, "social" bullshit and all that, OK, but get the basics down).
Zinio is quite good but needs lower per-issue pricing, as well as integration with paying only through the App Store to simplify purchases and cater to impulse buys from customers.
Seeing they censor less offensive content Apple and SJ should ban any and all News Corp's repulsive right-wing trash from running on iOS. Here is a company reportedly and unashamedly benefitting from the interception of private mobile phone calls and other major illegal breaches of privacy to make a profit.
SJ would rightly have blown a fuse if ever he'd learned his mobile conversations had been illegally tapped just to sell details of his private life to an amoral and avaricious public.
I use to think you had a backbone Steve, and that you also cared about human rights. I guess you entered a bargain when the life of another was taken to get you that withering liver.
You are a disgrace.
Even if this isn't a right wing propaganda tool at first, it will eventually become one. No way am I paying for this.
Why the free advertising on AI for a vaporware app? Can we expect the same coverage for all other apps that don't exist? Not sure how this is "news"...